According to the current state of the art, the hot forming of a lay-up of fibre composite material is performed by means of a solid metal tool, which has a surface contour corresponding to a desired geometry of the lay-up after the forming. After the hot forming, the pre-fabricated scrim is cured, in particular in an autoclave, to form a component.
This means that, to produce components with different geometries, for example T or L stringers, a large number of different solid metal tools are required.
A disadvantageous effect here has been found to be the fact that a change in the geometry of the component to be produced, for example with regard to the layer structure, apertures or ramps, makes it necessary to perform laborious modification work on the solid metal tool, even to the extent that it has to be exchanged entirely. For example, the application of material to the surface contour of the solid metal tool for an altered geometry of the component to be produced represents a considerable problem, since it is possible only to a very limited extent, with the result that in many cases the solid metal tool has to be exchanged entirely.
Furthermore, owing to their size—up to 35 meter in length—and resultant great weight, handling such solid metal tools, for example for the modification work described, is very laborious.